- Place
- Šiauliai
- Region
- Šiauliai Region
- Type
- community-made art and monetary-history installation opened in 2015 at Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy Information Centre
- Address
- Vytauto g. 84, second floor, room 208, Šiauliai
- Coordinates
- 55.92878, 23.31359
- Visit duration
- 20-35 minutes for the room and adjacent money displays; about one hour with a centre tour
- Best time
- a weekday morning; check the Information Centre's shorter summer timetable and book group visits in advance
Šiauliai Cents Room, The Cents Room, ŠAIC Cents Room
A room made from 157,130 coins
Coins are not arranged behind glass in the Cents Room. Lithuanian 1, 2, and 5 centas pieces densely cover the walls and ceiling, transforming an ordinary room 208 into a silvery, shimmering installation. Mirrors repeat their textured surfaces and make the compact interior seem larger.
Vilnius University Library gives an exact total of 157,130 coins. Their combined face value is 3,463 litas and 69 centai, converted to €1,003.15. The Lithuanian Book of Records recognises it for the greatest number of coins used to decorate a room.
These coins are not a spendable collection or a donation box: they are the material of the artwork. Do not touch them, try to remove them, or attach your own. Inspect the smallest patterns closely, then step back towards the opposite wall to photograph the composition as a whole.
A map of Lithuania, giant litas, and coin throne
A map of Lithuania made from coins fills one wall. Towns are marked with 10, 20, and 50 centas pieces, while larger cities use litas coins of different denominations. It is symbolic rather than cartographically scaled, expressing how donations reached Šiauliai from across the country.
Another wall carries an oversized litas design. Below it stands a coin-clad throne on which visitors are invited to sit for photographs. The composition also includes a Vytis Cross made from silver interwar litas coins and presented at the opening celebration.
An adjacent display follows the historical development of money in Lithuania. Banknotes donated by Vilius Puronas move the experience from glittering artwork to chronology: money issued under different governments, the first litas in 1922, its return in 1993, and the transition to the euro.
A community farewell to the litas
The Šiauliai Union of Non-Governmental Organisations initiated the project. City honorary citizen, local historian, and industrial designer Vilius Puronas developed its visual design, while the then Šiauliai University Library supplied the room. Library staff, students, schoolchildren, kindergarten groups, organisations, and visitors all helped attach donated coins.
The room formally opened on 16 February 2015, shortly after Lithuania adopted the euro. Everyday small change that had just left circulation became the material of collective memory. On 24 February the President of Lithuania presented the creators with a national tricolour for the idea's originality and its celebration of Restoration of the State Day.
For the 10th anniversary in 2025, Vilnius University Library reported more than 20,000 visitors and over 100 guided groups received each year. Those figures explain why a small university-library room merits its own destination pin.
More to see in the same centre
The ground-floor foyer holds the Great Book of Lithuania, Aukuras Salduvei. It measures 125 centimetres high, 90 centimetres wide, and 25 centimetres thick, weighs 113.6 kilograms, and contains 184 pages. The Cents Room is upstairs, so the two record-scale objects fit naturally into one visit.
A bronze sculpture of an American one-cent coin, Ak!Centas!, was installed in the inner courtyard in 2024 and is visible through the Cents Room window. It commemorates Šiauliai-born Victor David Brenner, designer of the Lincoln cent obverse first issued in 1909. The centre also displays a US cent collection assembled by Lithuanian Americans.
A booked tour of roughly one hour connects the Cents Room, Lithuania's largest book, the library's architecture, and other collections. Choose it if you want more than a photograph and would like to understand why these objects belong in an academic library.
Opening hours, prices, and access
The Cents Room follows the Vilnius University Library Šiauliai Academy Information Centre timetable. On 27 July 2026, regular hours were Monday to Friday, 8 am-7 pm, and Saturday, 10 am-3 pm. From 23 June to 31 August, shorter summer hours applied: Monday to Thursday, 8 am-5 pm, and Friday, 8 am-3:45 pm. Check the official page before visiting.
The attraction page does not list a separate self-guided admission ticket. Published group services included a short main-highlights visit for €0.50 per person and an approximately one-hour Lithuanian tour for €0.70, reduced to €0.50. Prices can change, so confirm while booking on +370 41 595 706.
The room is on the second floor in room 208. The Information Centre describes its spaces as adapted for people with additional needs, but ask the information desk about the most suitable route, assistance, and group capacity. Reserve larger groups in advance because the installation occupies a small room.
